Abstract
Organisms of vastly differing morphologies, ecologies, and behaviors—such as fruit flies and humans—are now known to share a multitude of molecular, cellular, and developmental processes. Not only is there extensive similarity in the sequences of fly and human genes, but in addition, almost all of the proteins and major signal transduction pathways that control cell division and differentiation in mammals are also found in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster (Rubin et al. 2000; http://flybase.bio.indiana.edu/). Components in these pathways perform the same biochemical functions and act in the same order in both fruitfly and mammalian cells.
Highlights
Organisms of vastly differing morphologies, ecologies, and behaviors—such as fruit flies and humans—are known to share a multitude of molecular, cellular, and developmental processes
The homologs of many genes involved in innate immune responses in flies and humans have been found in mice, sharks, nematodes, and plants (e.g., Pujol et al 2001; Nurnberger and Brunner 2002)
In species studied to date, host defense appears to be mediated by homologous proteins
Summary
Organisms of vastly differing morphologies, ecologies, and behaviors—such as fruit flies and humans—are known to share a multitude of molecular, cellular, and developmental processes. If infectious agents gain entry into the body, internal innate immune responses become activated and rapidly eliminate the infection. Phagocytosis is a fundamental innate immune mechanism carried out by a number of different cell types, including macrophages.
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